


the history books forgot about us

by ThatGirlTheyKnow



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Adoption, Age Difference, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, M/M, Pseudo-Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-14
Updated: 2013-01-14
Packaged: 2017-11-25 11:38:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/638503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatGirlTheyKnow/pseuds/ThatGirlTheyKnow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: "AU Loki's a child and Tony adopted him: then Loki grows up and they kind of fall in love."</p>
            </blockquote>





	the history books forgot about us

Really there’s only a ten year difference between them- Tony’s twenty-two, wild and reckless and impulsive, when he meets twelve year old Loki. The boy’s in an orphanage he visits for really no other purpose than company image, but he takes time to talk to the kids, because you’ve got to be really damn heartless not to feel sorry for them.

There’s one boy that sticks out- dark hair, piercing green eyes, who looks completely unimpressed when Tony greets him with a smile. “Hey, kiddo.” he says, and the boy glares.

“I’m not a kid.”

Tony’s smile falters, but he recovers and tries to pick up a conversation with the boy. All the other kids have talked about what they want to be when they grow up, their favourite books and movies. This boy, it turns out, is interested in how rockets are made, and Tony ends up spending a good twenty minutes explaining it in full detail while the boy absorbed every word, before one of his employees comes up to him and tells him it’s time to leave. He turns back to the boy.

“What’s your name?” he asks.

“Loki. Loki Odinson.”

And Tony barely has time to nod before he’s ushered out the door.

* * *

 

He sees Loki a second time when somebody comes up with the idea of him having a follow-up visit, a year later, to see how the kids are the orphanage are faring.

Most of the time is spent reading stories to the younger kids, but he manages to find the interesting little boy from last time (Loki, he reminds himself) and is asked to explain the most effective way to cause an explosion. Perhaps a responsible adult would never tell a thirteen year old boy this, but Tony’s not responsible, and Loki reminds him ridiculously of himself at that age, so he and the boy spend fifteen minutes discussing it while a few of the other teenagers listen in.

Tony finds himself smiling, a real, genuine smile, at the dark haired boy when he leaves, and he hasn’t smiled like that since his parents died.

* * *

 

He’s drunk, ridiculously so, and depressed and lonely. He wants someone, anyone, to talk to. Someone smart, someone impartial, who won’t judge him by his past mistakes. He remembers brainstorming ideas for a robot to talk to, but everything after that is fuzzy.

Two days later, he gets an email about the paperwork of his adoption of Loki Odinson. He stares at the screen for a few minutes, but replies, because maybe a kid to look after will be good for him.

* * *

 

The kid’s eyes go wide when he finds out Tony wants to take him in, but there’s a small curve at the corner of his mouth so Tony feels better about it.

* * *

 

It’s all over the news- Young, reckless Tony Stark, adopting a young boy. Surely this will end in disaster? Maybe he’ll clean up his act? Is he too young to be looking after a kid?

Tony ignores the headlines, doesn’t show them to Loki, and doesn’t let the kid out in public for weeks.

The boy settles into his new life style easily, and Tony finds himself acting like a mature adult for the first time in his life. His personal friends are shocked and angry about, but he knows Rhodey liked the boy, and Obie just told him to be careful.

* * *

 

Loki calls him as “Tony” or, when he wants to irritate his guardian, “Anthony.”   
Tony calls him “Kid,” “Young one,” “Grasshopper” or “Loki Odinson, you better not have scorched your walls again!”

He regrets ever teaching that kid how to blow stuff up.

They got along fine, and the kid is wise beyond his years, and Tony’s not so much of a father as he is a friend. He looks after Loki and cares about him and people comment, a year after the adoption, that Tony’s a changed man.

—-

* * *

Loki goes to a fancy private school until his junior year, when he storms into Tony’s lab one afternoon and demands he get home schooled, because everyone at that place are idiots and the curriculum is boring.

Tony, even though he’s been living with the boy for three years, still can’t say no to his pout and hires the best tutor around for him. Loki manages to get into college a year early, and Tony’s never been prouder.

* * *

 

While Loki’s at college, Tony reverts slightly into his old ways of drinking and sleeping around. It’s not as bad as in his younger years, but Pepper expresses concern so it must be a pretty depressing sight.

She refers to Loki as “your son” and Tony frowns, because Loki’s not his son. He doesn’t know what he is, but son isn’t the right word.

He waves off her concerns, telling her he might be missing the kid a bit, and she leaves, shaking her head.

* * *

 

When Loki graduates at the age of eighteen and Tony’s not technically his legal guardian anymore. He offers to buy the boy his own place, but in the end Loki moves back in with him and works as Tony’s ‘apprentice’. Pepper comments that he’s raised the boy to be his clone.

* * *

 

The boy’s old enough to bring girls home, and Tony doesn’t mention it, but when he sees Loki sucking the face off another guy he asks about it and is glared at. Tony doesn’t care who Loki sleeps with, and he tells the boy as much, who nods silently and goes to his room. It’s not like him, Loki always wants the last word.  
It occurs to Tony that he feels oddly possessive of Loki, but he shakes off the thought.

* * *

 

When Tony turns thirty, Loki’s twenty and a grown man, and that’s when it starts happening.

They’re close, and always have been, and in these past two years Tony’s spent even more time with him alone, in the workshop, as he teaches the boy about Stark Industries and the weapons he’s designed. Most of their days, when they don’t attend meetings, are spent in the lab bouncing ideas off each other. Tony and Loki connect on a level no one else has, and the word “father” sounds more and more inappropriate.

* * *

 

Tony sees Loki bringing back dates every now and then and wonders why it bothers him so much.

The boy’s handsome, intelligent, tall, dark and handsome. Mystery. Of course he’s going to attract plenty of attention.

Tony drinks himself to sleep and tries to forget about the way those familiar eyes met his, burned into his skull, even while the younger man’s mouth was busy against someone else’s.

* * *

 

The whole kidnapped-by-terrorists thing happens, and Tony’s sure he’s never going to see Loki again.

The smile on the man’s face three months later is the best thing Tony’s ever seen and he says as much, earning himself a very odd look from Loki.

* * *

 

Obie betrays him, and the Iron Man thing happens, and by his side the entire time are Pepper, Rhodey and Loki. Always Loki, who stops dating and devotes all of his energy to the man that took him in all those years ago.

The only thing he doesn’t share with Loki is the palladium poisoning, and when he eventually finds out at the same time as Pepper, he doesn’t talk to Tony for the longest two weeks of the billionaire’s life.

(He eventually caves, bursting into Tony’s room at one in the morning with an apology, and he cries into the older man’s shirt at the thought of losing him.)

(Tony promises he’ll never keep something like that from Loki again.)

(He means it. Loki’s the most important person in his life and has been for years.)

* * *

 

Tony dates Pepper for a while, but it feels wrong, so he breaks it off. The look on her face is knowing, and he has no idea why.

* * *

 

He’s thirty-seven and Loki’s twenty-seven and they’re at home watching a movie, both drunk, when it happens.

Tony asks if Loki’s seeing anyone, and the man’s face falls.

“No,” he says, and Tony’s worried because the look on Loki’s face is heartbroken.

“What’s wrong?” His voice is a little slurred, by all of his attention is on Loki and his mind is clearer and he just wants to make him smile again. “You know you can tell me. We’re… You’re really important to me, okay? I want you to be happy.”

Loki’s staring at him. Tony can’t read his expression. “Tony,” the younger man says. “You can’t make me happy.”

This makes Tony sad, so he sits up a little straighter and fixes Loki with a challenging glare. “Try me.”

“Kiss me.” Loki’s eyes widen as soon as the words are out of his mouth. “Wait! No, I’m sorry, I just…”

He trails off. Tony stares at him and notes how beautiful this man was- big green eyes, long dark hair slicked back, all pale skin and contrasts and he’s gorgeous.

Loki’s standing up now, mumbling apologies and it’s so out of character, and Tony calmly stands with him, and presses their lips together softly.

This is wrong, but it’s so right. Loki kisses back, and the kiss gets deeper.

They fall onto the couch, Loki straddling Tony, and kiss and just  _touch_  until they drift off to sleep.

* * *

 

They wake up the next morning and Loki tries to act like nothing happened, but Tony kisses him again and the younger man moans into his mouth.

He takes Loki to bed with him and doesn’t ever, ever want him to leave.

* * *

 

Tony’s been in love with Loki since to guy was twenty, and he’s always known it deep down inside, but he never acted on it because this was the boy he’d adopted, helped raise. People would talk.

Loki’s always had a crush on Tony Stark, but fell in love with Tony when he was sixteen and had been falling in and out of love with him ever since.

They’re together now, but only when they’re alone, because if anyone found out they’d be shunned, looked upon with disgust. Nobody would understand that Tony’s never been Loki’s father, never acted like one. They’re connected so deeply it felt completely natural for Tony to wake up with that lean body curved around his, natural to kiss him, natural to run his fingers through that long dark hair.

If people talk about the amount of time they spend together, they don’t notice.

If Pepper notices the way they look at each other like the other is the most beautiful thing in the world, she doesn’t say anything, and hides her smile behind her hand.

* * *

 


End file.
